Milwaukee M18 lawnmower

[JackOfDiamonds]

I bought a house last year and need to buy a lawn mower.

Last time I bought a random 21" gas multi-mower at the big box store. It worked mostly fine. At least for a couple years. I think it was $250 but that's probably $350 now. I replaced it with a Stihl electric mower for $600 solely so that I didn't have to mess with gas. I was pretty happy with the Stihl overall.

My neighbor says I should buy a Kobalt or Ego electric mower. The price is nearly the same, but no gas to mess with, and quieter. Sounds good but I know a lot of people who had the batteries die after a few years and have to throw the whole thing away because the batteries cost more than the mower or aren't even available.

I saw they just released a Milwaukee M18 mower. It looks seriously good, and requires use of 2 M18 batteries. But it's $1000.

I want to go electric but the gas mowers are looking better and better.

 

[dnschmidt]

I think what you mean is cheaper and cheaper. Nobody ever stated that going green was going to be cheaper and if they did they were lying. Pollution control cost money, always has, always will. Catalytic converters cost serious money but at least now when I visit LA my eyes don’t sting and water like they did in the 1970’s.

 

[m6z]

I bought this Honda a couple years ago. Starts on the first pull and cuts well.

Honda HRN216PKA Mower | 21" Walk Behind Mower |Honda Lawn Mowers

The Honda HRN216PKA push mower features MicroCut twin blades, a powerful Honda four stroke engine, heavy duty steel deck, and exceptional cutting performance.

powerequipment.honda.com

 

[JackOfDiamonds]

My yard is medium-sized...I guess maybe 1/8 acre. So not a tiny condo lawn but not a big 1/4 acre lawn either. So I'm definitely in the regime where electric is possible.

I want to go electric, but just not sure the electric mowers are ready yet vs. gas. It almost seems worth buying a gas mower one more time, then even if it only lasts 2 or 3 years, the electric options will be that much better by then and maybe the $1000 milwaukee will be down to $600 or something. But actually in my experience the cheap gas mowers tend to last a pretty long time if you run non-ethanol in them and keep oil in them.

Does anyone know if it's possible to retrofit a quieter muffler on a gas motor? If there were a gas motor that were just quieter, that would be nice too.

 

[dacan23]

So whats the question? Should you go electric? Is the Milwaukee any good or worth it?

The Milwaukee looks good on paper, no one will know if it matches that in reality for 2 months. Its the most expensive thing in the battery sector. If you not already heavy into the M18 platform, you can likely get away with a less expensive model.

 

[mike93lx]

I run ego OPE and love it. Everything is quieter and I no longer have to deal with gas and oil.

No experience with the m18 mower, but it's probably a solid option

 

[bobg03]

How old is your Stihl? I would think other than batteries and sharpening it should last 20 years or more.

I have the cheapest Stihl blower with an internal (non replacible) battery that at 7 years old still works great. It would run for an hour at full throttle when new and now at 7 years old it's down to 45 minutes of full power. At $129 new when it gets to 30 minutes or less I will buy a new one.
Note I only use it on my driveway and concrete patio areas, If I had to do leaf cleanup for the yard I would buy the one with the external battery.

 

[JackOfDiamonds]

I sold the Stihl mower when I moved. So right now I don't have any mower at all.

I guess the question is just whether it's worth going electric, and whether to get an expensive electric or a cheap electric, vs. buy a gas mower now and go electric later. It seems like gas mowers are mature, but electric mowers are improving every year. At the same time some of the electric mowers are getting to the same price levels as gas ones. Like this ryobi:

 

[dacan23]

I sold the Stihl mower when I moved. So right now I don't have any mower at all.

I guess the question is just whether it's worth going electric, and whether to get an expensive electric or a cheap electric, vs. buy a gas mower now and go electric later. It seems like gas mowers are mature, but electric mowers are improving every year. At the same time some of the electric mowers are getting to the same price levels as gas ones. Like this ryobi:

If your 1/8 property doesn't have much or any trees then most of the battery mowers will probably be ok. My issue with battery mowers is they throttle down if not much resistance on the cutting blade. Its a problem for picking up small leaves, if you dethatched, or have wacker clippings you are trying to pickup. Battery mowers also are a problem if cutting too much grass height, which makes you do multiple passes adjusting the height down. There is no battery mower that is gas equivalent, not even close, the Milwaukee and new Ego (I think) model being released claim to be gas power, but they are $1000.

If you're invested in a brands platform then get the best battery mower they make. If impartial to brand, then get a reasonable model that suits your budget, make sure to get newest model, there are a lot of older models still sold. 1/8 you may want simpler an cheaper non-self propelled, there are ones out there, and not sure if the propelled ones let you run without it, the Milwaukee does.

On paper the Milwaukee looks good, but at $1000 if any of the 12.0s **** out you will be very pissed, sure warranty is good for 3 years but you won't be mowing while waiting for warranty replacement as it needs two HO batteries to run. I had two 12.0s die last year and I take very good care of my stuff.

If the Milwaukee lives up to the hype you can buy my Makita lol

 

[mike93lx]

your 1/8 property doesn't have much or any trees then most of the battery mowers will probably be ok. My issue with battery mowers is they throttle down if not much resistance on the cutting blade. Its a problem for picking up small leaves, if you dethatched, or have wacker clippings you are trying to pickup. Battery mowers also are a problem if cutting too much grass height, which makes you do multiple passes adjusting the height down. There is no battery mower that is gas equivalent, not even close, the Milwaukee and new Ego (I think) model being released claim to be gas power, but they are $1000.

I disagree, at least with my ego. It does great in thick grass and with sticks/pinecones. Plenty of power. I do a mix of mulching and bagging and also use it to pickup some of the debris when I dethatch and scarify.

Do you have first hand experience with a bunch of models to back this up or are you assuming?

 

[dacan23]

I disagree, at least with my ego. It does great in thick grass and with sticks/pinecones. Plenty of power. I do a mix of mulching and bagging and also use it to pickup some of the debris when I dethatch and scarify.

Do you have first hand experience with a bunch of models to back this up or are you assuming?

I have a Makita, know people with Ego & Ryobi's.

It all depends on the variables, perhaps the Ego works for your conditions. Until the Milwaukee and new model Ego are vetted, there is no gas Equivalent battery mower, same goes for all other battery OPE.

Also for the OP, forgot to suggest, if the conditions are ideal for corded, theres always some with small lawns that praise them. My corded dethatcher has more power than my Makita mower. Corded are pretty cheap and if it lasts 2-3 years and you need to replace it doesn't hurt.

 

[jpaw]

Man if I only got 2-3 years out of and new mower I would be pissed.

A gas mower should last indefinitely with proper matainance, basically keep oil in it and carb clean. I mowed my grandma's 1/2 acre or so weekly with a stupid corded mower for years.
Personally, I would not go battery unless I had a very small yard.

 

[dacan23]

Man if I only got 2-3 years out of and new mower I would be pissed.

A gas mower should last indefinitely with proper matainance, basically keep oil in it and carb clean. I mowed my grandma's 1/2 acre or so weekly with a stupid corded mower for years.
Personally, I would not go battery unless I had a very small yard.

My point was if a corded mower fit the bill, they are only $150-250, considering cheaper than gas and no maintenance or significantly cheaper than battery options. If you threw it away after 2-3 years, its not a tough pill to swallow. I don't like dragging the cord on my dethatcher, am a fan of gas but trying to be battery based. For fans of good gas OPE you can not expect the same performance from battery and need to be realistic in expectations.

 

[acer66]

No opinion on the big red I am just happy with my ryobi 40v.
All plastic and feels a bit flimsy but is very light and I am surprised that it is still alive the way I treat it.
I have a few batteries due to most of my outdoor tools are the same make so by the time I am through them I am done too.
So far I managed to kill one battery in 5-6 years.

If you already have a battery platform you might want to go with that.

 

[ArcReactorKC]

I don't have experience with the m18 yet. But I do with the 40v Kobalt. We have had ours for going on 5 years. It has cut the grass at both of our places just as well as any gas mower I've had. I bought an extra battery for it as after the front was done there wasn't much left in it for the back. Between both batteries my son can mow all of the yard, then use the string trimmer and blow the driveway and sidewalk. He doesn't have to wait for batteries since by the time he empties one the other is ready and two batteries has been no problem.

 

[acer66]

I don't have experience with the m18 yet. But I do with the 40v Kobalt. We have had ours for going on 5 years. It has cut the grass at both of our places just as well as any gas mower I've had. I bought an extra battery for it as after the front was done there wasn't much left in it for the back. Between both batteries my son can mow all of the yard, then use the string trimmer and blow the driveway and sidewalk. He doesn't have to wait for batteries since by the time he empties one the other is ready and two batteries has been no problem.

You bring up a good point with the charging time.
With my ryobi it takes forever and when you worked em hard they need to cool down first too.

 

[humpty]

I have the Echo 58V mower and love it. Going on 7 years I think? I run two batteries and I can do my yard almost 3 times on one battery.
I like how light it is and how quiet, plus when people are walking dogs by I can just stop, wait and then keep going.

At work (college campus) we bought into the new Stihl battery ecosystem. Blowers, weed whips and mowers. We only have one summer on them but so far they have been really good. Time will tell but Stihl has been the primary blower/whip brand forever for us.

 

[minke]

My yard is medium-sized...I guess maybe 1/8 acre. So not a tiny condo lawn but not a big 1/4 acre lawn either. So I'm definitely in the regime where electric is possible.

I want to go electric, but just not sure the electric mowers are ready yet vs. gas. It almost seems worth buying a gas mower one more time, then even if it only lasts 2 or 3 years, the electric options will be that much better by then and maybe the $1000 milwaukee will be down to $600 or something. But actually in my experience the cheap gas mowers tend to last a pretty long time if you run non-ethanol in them and keep oil in them.

Does anyone know if it's possible to retrofit a quieter muffler on a gas motor? If there were a gas motor that were just quieter, that would be nice too.

If you want electric but not necessarily battery powered then let me tell you about my experience with a corded electric in the '80s. I had a Craftsman for a 1/6 acre lot and I hated, hated, hated it. Did I mention that I hated it? The problem was that it always worked. No excuses. IIRC I replaced a belt after ~10 years. The only requirement was to figure out a path that always has the cord trailing behind you.

I hated it.

 

[16again]

I have a small property and have the Stihl battery mower last 2 1/2 years. Love it.

 

[Steve_P]

If you only have 1/8 acre, buy the Ego and be done with it. I do not have anything Ego, but they typically win the comparo tests. So I will buy their blower soon. I understand wanting to stay with one battery system, but for lawn equipment Ego just seems to be the best. So I will get a blower, weedeater, and probably a chainsaw from them, even though I have DeWalt for the rest of my cordless tools

 

[mopar4u]

1/8 acre…..reel mower, human powered with busch light in one hand

 

[engineer2]

Look at Makita commercial electric mowers. They have a decent reputation. The 18V (x2) has been around forever.

 

[Ton ton]

1/8 acre…..reel mower, human powered with busch light in one hand

Great answer.

 

[Ton ton]

I would buy a goat or sheep. They produce delicious fresh milk. When you are sick and tired of taking care of the animal- simply take it to the local butcher shop.

 

[red94chev]

Are you invested in any particular battery powered platforms currently? If so, I would go with that brand to save on batteries. And if you end up not liking it, you're not out so much money in batteries and a charger.

That being said, I think basic/minimal maintenance should get you 10 years out of a gas mower.

 

[acer66]

I would buy a goat or sheep. They produce delicious fresh milk. When you are sick and tired of taking care of the animal- simply take it to the local butcher shop.

I would defiantly take sheep over goat unless you want total destruction of your yard or you like fencing things in.
Next door neighbor went from goats to sheep because containing goats is almost like containing a cat.

 

[Ton ton]

Goats give more milk. At least the dairy breeds do.

 

[Steve_P]

Goats love to tap-dance on car hoods, trunks, and roofs
Funny reply about the reel mower and beer, but outside of a golf course (do they still use the tow-behind reel mowers?) I haven't seen a reel mower in 40 years. And even 40 years ago, almost no one could sharpen them because it takes a dedicated machine to do it correctly; like it takes a dedicated machine to sharpen ice skates. Granted you can sharpen them with a file, but...

 

[Ton ton]

My brother sold his commercial reel mower 5 years ago.

 

[Sumboodie]

My yard is medium-sized...I guess maybe 1/8 acre. So not a tiny condo lawn but not a big 1/4 acre lawn either. So I'm definitely in the regime where electric is possible.

I want to go electric, but just not sure the electric mowers are ready yet vs. gas. It almost seems worth buying a gas mower one more time, then even if it only lasts 2 or 3 years, the electric options will be that much better by then and maybe the $1000 milwaukee will be down to $600 or something. But actually in my experience the cheap gas mowers tend to last a pretty long time if you run non-ethanol in them and keep oil in them.

Does anyone know if it's possible to retrofit a quieter muffler on a gas motor? If there were a gas motor that were just quieter, that would be nice too.

I'd hope a cordless mower can handle a small .25 acre yard.

 

[Kaervak]

I have the regular self propelled 21" Ego with a 7.5AH battery. Bought it a couple years ago after my nearly 30 year old Craftsman gas mower pissed me off for the last time with not wanting to properly start. I will never go back to a gas mower after owning the Ego. My entire lot size is 1/4 acre with driveway and structures included, actual grass is probably just over 1/8 acre in size. I have no problems cutting my entire lot with a single charge and I have battery to spare when I'm done. You'll be plenty fine with the Ego mower right now with your lot size. If I remember right I paid just under $550 for the standard self propelled model, there are fancier ones if you want but the regular self propelled is plenty fine. Also, I'm not sure what the other brands offer for warranty coverage but Ego is five years on battery, mower and charger.

 

[White Shadow]

I have an Ego that I've used for 3 seasons now and the thing is still going strong. My property is just over an acre and I have about 34,000 sq.ft. of grass to mow. I can use the Ego to cut the entire lawn using just two of the 7.5A batteries. It takes me almost three hours to cut the lawn like that, but the batteries have held up well for the three years that I've used it.

One thing I learned about Ego batteries is that they will automatically drain themselves down to about 30% during winter storage to extend the life of the battery.

 

[Sumboodie]

I have an Ego that I've used for 3 seasons now and the thing is still going strong. My property is just over an acre and I have about 34,000 sq.ft. of grass to mow. I can use the Ego to cut the entire lawn using just two of the 7.5A batteries. It takes me almost three hours to cut the lawn like that, but the batteries have held up well for the three years that I've used it.

One thing I learned about Ego batteries is that they will automatically drain themselves down to about 30% during winter storage to extend the life of the battery.

I've considered a push mower for my ~1/2 acre of yard, but the zero turn is so much quicker. Done in 30 mins, no grass packed in my boots and I'm not sweaty.

I did it twice by hand, took me 3 days after work as I only had ~30-45 mins each night.
And got **** at work for leaving grass all over the shop. Boots kept shitting grass!

 

[DerekV]

Goats love to tap-dance on car hoods, trunks, and roofs
Funny reply about the reel mower and beer, but outside of a golf course (do they still use the tow-behind reel mowers?) I haven't seen a reel mower in 40 years. And even 40 years ago, almost no one could sharpen them because it takes a dedicated machine to do it correctly; like it takes a dedicated machine to sharpen ice skates. Granted you can sharpen them with a file, but...

Funny you mention it, I actually have a new push reel mower showing up today. I’m planning to electrify both the drive axle and reel independently with some 60v brushless motors and (3) M18 batteries in series. Should be pretty cool, should also cut my grass a lot nicer at a low cut height than my rotary mower

 

[mobiledynamics]

Is this 36V or not ? I did a very brief search.Don't need or want it....but as the weather get's warmer, and winter/spring cleanup chores are done, I would not mind seeing a Mooooar Power M18/36 Backpack Blower

 

[White Shadow]

I've considered a push mower for my ~1/2 acre of yard, but the zero turn is so much quicker. Done in 30 mins, no grass packed in my boots and I'm not sweaty.

I did it twice by hand, took me 3 days after work as I only had ~30-45 mins each night.
And got **** at work for leaving grass all over the shop. Boots kept shitting grass!

Yup, I have both. My zero turn makes quick work of the yard for sure, but a few times a year I like to just push mow it. Or if the ground is really wet from a lot of rain, sometimes I'll just push mow it instead of taking out the heavy zero turn.

 

[DerekV]

Is this 36V or not ? I did a very brief search.Don't need or want it....but as the weather get's warmer, and winter/spring cleanup chores are done, I would not mind seeing a Mooooar Power M18/36 Backpack Blower

It is indeed 36v

 

[mobiledynamics]

I bought the freaking itty bitty cutoff saw as I was not planning to get into MX and I wanted, ahem, cough - needed the cordless cutoff. Got a Husq. K750 already

It would be a 1st time Red Buyers Remorse if a *dual* 36 larger cutoff comes out.
I doubt it though - as then it will be competing with the MX .

 

[JackOfDiamonds]

I see that you can buy 50ft and 100ft coax cables at Home Depot with ends already on them. One of those would probably work for me even if I had to coil up a little extra somewhere.

Commercial Electric 50 ft. RG-6 Quad Shielded Coaxial Cable Y304189 - The Home Depot

Provide excellent protection against electromagnetic interference by choosing this Commercial Electric Quad Shielded Coaxial Cable.

www.homedepot.com

Is it OK to run this outside in the sun/weather? It doesn't say anything about that. And how do you make sure the outside connection is weatherproof? Is it a good idea to put some shrink-wrap over the whole connection?

 

[mobiledynamics]

If it's preterminated, then it's weather proofed.
What application / service do you NEED it for.

If it is dish based, check the specs. You may need *copper core* coax if dish based.
Most coax is CCS - copper clad steel